Apples vs. Oranges. Mechanical vs. hydros. I like the BB7's for budget builds. They do work well and if you're just getting into bike mechanics can be easier to deal with. You need to be patient and break them in correctly and they'll come around and turn into pretty good stoppers. The price is right also. Hydros to me are set and forget and my preference. I've had the best luck with Formula Oro's.

Ive got bb7s on my bike. they are fine for xc riding/racing and light all mountain, but dont have enough power for real DH riding. They dont have alot of modulation, so it can be difficult to control lock up on steep/loose terrain. After a wet/muddy/really dusty ride my bb7's need new cables (or a good cleaning and lubing at the minimum). Admittedley this could be solved, or made better by buying good quality sealed cables. Also you have to manuallly adjust them for pad wear (granted it takes 2 seconds, and is tool free, but the juicys self adjust) I have also had issues with the caliper bending my rotor because only the outside pad moves. Every time you hit the brakes the rotor must move a very small amount. this isnt a problem if you stay on top of pad wear, but it the gap between the inside pad and the rotor gets too large, then you risk bending the rotor when you apply the break. With the juicy's you wont have this because both the inside and outside pads move.

My cousin has juicy 7's on his dean ace, and his cannondale rize, and juicy 5's on his son's trek fuel. Ive ridden the dean and the rize, and i loved the juicy 7's. They have a ton of power, and great modulation (at least compared to my bb7's). They are nearly maintenance free once they are installed properly. Like all good hydralic brakes the calipers self adjust for pad wear.

-Im seriously considering upgrading to the juicy sevens, for the better modulation, and because im sick of changing cables after every ride.

-edit: I'm sure the juicy's have flaws too, but i dont own a pair so i cant comment on the flaws.

Out of Juicy 5s, 3s and BB7s I prefer BB7s. I think that they are a very underrated brake. There is no need to bleed them, they are powerful enough for XC use, good value, and if you destroy a lever in a crash then they can be replaced with anything.

Juicys are not my pick of hydraulic brakes. I think that at that price point, Hayes (of any price) have it all over Avid.

Out of Juicy 5s, 3s and BB7s I prefer BB7s. I think that they are a very underrated brake. There is no need to bleed them, they are powerful enough for XC use, good value, and if you destroy a lever in a crash then they can be replaced with anything.

Juicys are not my pick of hydraulic brakes. I think that at that price point, Hayes (of any price) have it all over Avid.

Not really underrated though, I think. You'll find a lot of forum members agree they are good. I guess some people prefer mechs and some hydros.

Except if you hit the lever with the wheel out, nearly every time you change pads, or simply if there is a gremlin in the system. I think if you can take the approx 100g penalty (OMG 100g) and if you like riding bikes more than working on them, then the BB7 is the shizzle.

I have BB7 with G3 rotors and speed dial levers and Jagwire Ripcords. I find this combo to work well, and it gives me plenty of stopping power and modulation. If you do get BB7s, upgrade the rotors to G3s. Big difference from the roundagon rotors, FYI, I am 250lbs.

Except if you hit the lever with the wheel out, nearly every time you change pads, or simply if there is a gremlin in the system

You obviously have no clue about Hydros...you don't need to bleed if your lever gets squeezed with the wheel out, you simple spread the pads back (a tire lever works fine here at the trailhead). And I have yet to ever have to bleed a Hydro when changing pads in 9 years of owning them (not to mention the hundreds I've worked on). And when you do need to bleed them, it takes a competent person no longer to bleed hydros as to replace cables and housing on a mechanical.

Nothing wrong with BB7's (I've owned them myself) but Juicy's or Hayes that I've owned are both better brakes overall due to their modulation and consistency on long descents.

I know one's ball bearing and one's hydraulic but what are the pro's and con's of each? Give me some schooling on brake systems please.

Obviously not a 29"er specific topic, but one that comes up on the Brake Time forum on a weekly basis (search over there and you'll get an eye full). And as you can see, this thread is already developing into the usual exchange when it comes to brakes.

Obviously not a 29"er specific topic, but one that comes up on the Brake Time forum on a weekly basis (search over there and you'll get an eye full). And as you can see, this thread is already developing into the usual exchange when it comes to brakes.

BB

Wow, I skimmed over the main forum page looking for a "brake" forum and completely missed it. Thanks for the heads up. And thanks everybody for all the opinions. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm any closer to making a decision than before. It seems it's more about personal preference than anything else huh?

Bikecop, you must not EVER ride in mud. I had brand new cables on my bike, and did a 12.5 mile xc race in fairly muddy conditions, but not that bad. My brakes still work, but its really hard to pull the lever, and it has a really "gritty" feeling when you squeeze the lever do to all the grit in the housing. I prefer hydros because they always deliver the same smooth perforemance at the lever. hydro systems are fully sealed and mechs are not. If your hydros are set up right they should never need to be bled. its that simple. I love my bb7's when they have brand new cables and housings on them, but that smooth feeling never lasts more than a few rides.

No, it's not really about preference, any moreso than anything else is.

Like most things, it's rider-dependent. If, based on your terrain, you don't need big stopping power and modulation, the mechanical brakes are cheap and should work fine. If you ride serious downs or tech, you probably want hydro.

I run Hope M4s on my Astrix Monk and they work fantastic. I run BB5s on my SS 29er. They work OK as long as I stick to XC riding. As soon as there's a serious down, they're overmatched immediately. I weigh 190 geared up and am a decent rider.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7166535@N05/3336369778/" title="160mm rotor in the front by singingsingletracker, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3336369778_a0d0cba1bc_b.jpg" width="1024" height="730" alt="160mm rotor in the front" /></a>

I admit, at 800 grams for the entire system on both of my bikes, I have the most expensive Avid mechanical disc brakes that money can buy.

Actually, Scrub Rotors would increase the price and snobbish attributes, but I am reasonable enough to not go there.

BB

I have a set of the Alligator rotors and they worked great until I did a pretty muddy race. They worked fine during the race but the next time I road my bike they began pulsing/shuddering so badly that I thought my carbon fork was going to snap in two. Not really sure what happened there. Put my old rotors back on and all was fine.

Wow, I skimmed over the main forum page looking for a "brake" forum and completely missed it. Thanks for the heads up. And thanks everybody for all the opinions. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm any closer to making a decision than before. It seems it's more about personal preference than anything else huh?

Yes. The good new is that it is a nice dilemma these days. Disc brakes are the reward for all those years of maintaining rim braking surfaces, cleaning and aligning the brake pads and wincing with the thought of the clean-up and maintenance that would be do once you got back home when the trail was no longer dry.

There are some definitive threads on choosing between hydro and cable actuated disc brakes on the brake time forum. At least the BB7 is the pinnacle of cable actuated disc brakes, so you are looking at the right one to compare.

Pros include: low cost (unless you go nuts like me) as they are selling for $42 a side these days, easy maintenance, work with any linear pull V brake lever (which means you could pay $5 for levers or go all the way up the price ladder to the Avid Speed Dial Ultimate Levers, Paul Love Levers, Extralite levers, etc... and fork over $$$ - it's all up to your budget). I've used the same brakes since 2002 - they are that good for my needs.

Cons include: weight (unless you go nuts like me), some rider's don't like to do simple maintenance including maintaining cables, adjusting the red knobs for pad wear, aligning calipers, etc... - so the maintenance and set up is considered a con by some.

Plenty of excellent hydraulic brake systems to choose between. And you will have pros/cons for them as well.

Which Juicy were you comparing to the BB7's? There are the Ultimates, Juicy 7, Juicy 5, Juicy 3's... Price/performance/features go up as you move higher in the model ladder and weight goes down.

I have a set of the Alligator rotors and they worked great until I did a pretty muddy race. They worked fine during the race but the next time I road my bike they began pulsing/shuddering so badly that I thought my carbon fork was going to snap in two. Not really sure what happened there. Put my old rotors back on and all was fine.

Hmmmm....did you check for rotor damage (were they still true)? How about the checking the pads for wear from the mud. Pads will melt in mud - even sintered pads which is the only pad one should be using with the Alligators (Avid or the EBC Gold). Caliper alignment was okay?

I pretty much always have ridden in mud since buying the Alligator rotors last year (thanks to a record amount of rainfall last year and all of the flooding) and this spring has been a mudfest as well. No problems with my rotors as of yet.